The snow which fell during the most recent storm system continues to settle and consolidate. While this new snow layer is gaining strength, in some areas dense surface slabs still lie upon weak persistent layers. Large slab avalanches could be triggered by humans who venture into very steep terrain. As the day progresses isolated pockets of soft slab will begin to form on leeward aspects. Evaluate the snowpack carefully, identify features of concern, and make conservative terrain choices.
Dense surface slabs formed by west winds could be human triggered in very steep terrain. These slabs could be triggered by the weight of a single person. Slab depths of one to three feet are likely.
Snowfall is expected to increase Wednesday morning as another significant storm system impacts the area through Thursday. A foot of snow is possible by sunset Wednesday. Temperatures associated with this storm are expected to be warm with upper elevations reaching the mid twenties and low elevations reaching the mid thirties. Southwest to west winds with averages of thirty to forty miles per hour and stronger gusts will cause rapid loading near peak levels. The general avalanche hazard is expected to be Considerable in all the forecast areas Wednesday morning. The hazard will increase during the day as the storm builds new wind slabs on steep leeward slopes. The chance continues for a single person to trigger deeper instabilities in the snowpack. These slides could vary in size to very large and could have depths to three feet in the Tetons and as much as five or six feet in the Togwotee Pass and Southwest Trails areas.
